AMERICAN BULLY
GENERAL ASPECT
The American Bully must be a strong and powerful dog. Its size varies from compact to medium / large, with a well-defined muscular body and a square head. The move must be powerful and effortless at the same time. American Bully gives the impression of a heavy bone structure and Bully (robust). The length of the front limbs (measured from the tip of the elbow to the ground) should never be greater than half the height of the dog at the withers, the length of the dog’s leg should always be proportional to the body, giving the dog a compact (full-bodied) appearance.). The breed combines strength, athletics, flexibility and agility. You should never have thin, slim bones. Balance and harmony of the ensemble are critical components of the breed.
Breed characteristics:
The essential characteristics of American Bully are strength, confidence and vigor. This breed is ready to please and triumph with enthusiasm. American Bully is an excellent family companion and has always been known for his love for children. Aggressive behavior towards humans and other dogs is not characteristic of the breed and is highly undesirable.
HEAD: The American Bully’s head is unique and one of the main characteristics of the breed. It has a huge and impressive appearance, large and wide, giving the impression of powerful, but not disproportionate to the size of the body. Seen from the front, the head is broad and square. When viewed from the side, the skull and muzzle are parallel to each other and joined by a definite stop. Supra-orbital arches are well defined but not pronounced. Masseters are well pronounced with some wrinkles.
The head is well designed, combining resistance, elegance and character.
Muzzle: The snout is short / medium, slightly square, with a pronounced stop. The length of the stem is shorter than the length of the skull, in the proportion of approximately 1: 2 or 2: 3. The upper line of the muzzle is linear. The jaws are well defined. The jaw is strong and well developed; wide and deep. The lips are tight, a little bit of the loose lip is accepted, but not preferred.
NOSE: The nose is large, with wide- and wide-open nostrils. The nose can be any color.
EYES: Almond-shaped to oval, low in the skull and well separated (not overly separated)
Ears: The ears are high and can be natural or cropped. If natural, semi-erect or pink are preferable. Erect or wide, flat, fully floppy ears are not desired.
TEETH: Complete dentition with uniformly spaced teeth, white teeth and scissor bite.
NECK: The neck is strong, thick and short. There is a slight bow in the crest. The neck gradually increases from where it joins the skull to where it fits, in well-angled shoulders. The skin of the neck is adhered and without dewlap.
Forequarters: The shoulder blades are long, wide, muscular and well sloping back. The front legs are straight, short, strong and robust, with substantially pronounced bone and muscle mass. The elbows should be tight to the body. Seen from the front, the forelegs are defined, visibly spaced apart (to accommodate a wide and deep chest) and perpendicular to the ground. Pasterns are short, powerful, straight and flexible. When viewed in profile, the pasterns should be erect, with a slight arch. Seen from the front the distance from the floor to the animal’s chest should be the same distance between the front legs, giving the impression of a square.
BODY: The body has a compact, powerful, substantial appearance, with a lot of mass and extremely muscular, which are characteristic of the American Bully breed. The chest is very wide, deep and filled with ample space for the heart and lungs; however, the chest should never be wider than deep. The ribs extend back and are well sprung from the spine, then flattening to form a deep body extending to the elbows. The back is strong, firm, moderately wide and muscular when viewed from above. The general appearance of the topline is flat (withers, back and hips at approximately the same level) or slightly downward from the withers to the hips with the croup slightly rounded, the topline should be muscular. The loin is short, muscular and slightly arched to the croup, but narrower than the rib cage and has a moderate tuck-up. The croup is tilted slightly downwards. Females can be slightly longer.
HINDQUARTERS: The hindquarters must be very powerful, strong, muscular, and broad. Powerful hindquarters are fundamental to the strength of American Bully, it is responsible for providing the strength and agility necessary to perform physical interchanges. Thighs and rump are visibly filled with tightly fitting muscles. The thigh is very well filled on each side of the tail and deep from the pelvis to the groin. The thighs are extremely well developed and musculature easily defined. The angulation of the posterior bones and musculature must be in harmony with the anterior ones. Seen from the side, the hocks are well angled and the metatarsals are well lowered and perpendicular to the ground. Seen from behind the metatarsals are straight and parallel to each other.
TAIL: is the extension of the upper line that tapers towards the tip. When the dog is relaxed, the tail is carried low and almost reaches the hock. When the dog is in motion, the tail is carried level with the upper line. When the dog is excited, the tail may be raised, vertical position (challenge tail), but never curled over the back (gay tail).
FEET: The feet are round, proportional to the size of the dog, well arched, and closed. The cushions are hard, resistant and well cushioned. A slight “French hand” to the outside is accepted, but it should not exceed 10 degrees in a clockwise position. The fingers should be together and well-proportioned to the leg and bone.
Coat: The coat is shiny and smooth, and moderately hard to touch.
COLOR: all colors except merle.
Size and weight: The American Bully must be both powerful and agile, so its weight and height are less important than the correct weight-to-height ratio. The American Bully must appear sturdy, stocky and compact, giving the impression of a solid, powerful dog that has great strength and skill in a compact body.
Standard in relation to height: Although the original American Bully is the “Standard type”, the breed varieties are also recognized by the terms “Miniature”, “Pocket” and “XL”. The variations of the original pattern for the Miniature, Pocket and XL are the heights, but still maintaining the proportions of the original pattern.
MINIATURES
Females: up to 33 cm
Males: up to 35 cm
POCKETS
Females: 33.01 cm to 40.5 cm
Males: 35.01 cm to 43.0 cm
STANDARD
Females: 40.6 cm to 48.0 cm
Males: 43.1 cm to 51.0 cm
XL
Females: 48.1 cm to 56.0 cm
Males: 51.1 to 58.5 cm
NOTE: *** Every puppy or youngster up to 12 months old is considered STANDARD for the purpose of “judgment”. After the complete 12 months, it is measured and reclassified to its correct category (mini, pocket, standard or xl).
MOVEMENT: Moves with confidence, conveying the impression of liveliness and enthusiasm. When you trot, your movement is light, smooth, powerful and well-coordinated, showing good reach in the front and rear propulsion. When in motion, the back remains level with only a slight flexion to indicate flexibility. Seen from any side, the legs do not turn inwards or
outwards, the feet do not cross or interfere with each other. As speed increases, the feet tend to converge towards the center line of balance.
FAULTS:
. Insufficient bone and lack of mass
. The twisted tail
. Knotted tail
. Long tail
. Curled tail
. Excessively short tail
. Louados, pink or Albino eyes.
. Severely twisted front
. Severely twisted hindquarters
. Cryptorchidism, retained testis.
SERIOUS FAULTS
. Lower prognathism
. Mandibular torsion
. Tooth missing
. mandible retrognathia.
DISQUALIFICATIONS
. Long coat
. Cropped tail
. Neutered dogs
. Exhibiting or possessing aggressive behavior towards humans.
